I read a little bit of a column in yesterday’s paper about him already being tired of winter and I had to think to myself that I quite agree with him, at least for now.  A week ago I would not have been in agreement but the last several days have shown the rougher side of winter.  Starting Monday morning, we had the rain from the night before that turned into the freezing rain during the night leaving the roads very icy in the morning.  The very next day, the snow started coming down in the afternoon making for a longer return commute that time.  However, after all was said and done about this storm I said to myself that I could shovel snow like that all the time- very light and fluffy.

Then Thursday night came.  The storm that shut down the schools on Friday for a head start on the two-week break.  I really would have liked to say I didn’t mind shoveling after this storm but that would make me a liar.  Shoveling this snow was like shoveling dirt and rocks it was so heavy.  It felt like the snow had been compacted as much as possible after falling, but still leaving several inches to move.  The end of the driveway was the worst.  We could use some modern technology to replace those snowplows that shove all the snow in the road to the side, including driveways.  I could not shovel the driveway and sidewalk all at once- I took a few-hour break between sessions.

Saturday.  Not so bad, but then snow started coming down in the evening when I was still driving.  Light snow, but at this point I was already tiring of it.  Then of course we have today’s frigid temperature.  Fortunately the car started right up for me this morning, but it was a little more trying following church.  The battery is only two years old, so I can only guess that I didn’t let it run for long enough between home and church to keep the battery charged.  I did notice that by the time I got near my home afterward the temperature needle still had not moved so I drove for about ten minutes more just to let the car warm up.  And tomorrow promises more of the same.  At least it was sunny out.  Tuesday is forecast to be much warmer in the upper 20s, but it also shows snow.  How about sunny and warm.  Please?

So is it time for spring yet?  Unfortunately the calendar shows winter only just began…

We had a great weekend, even though the weather on Sunday was horrid – so cold my Christmas teddy bear got frozen to the window!  Friday night was an all-night work session to finish up the planning and organization of our community theater’s awards show, which is where we went Saturday night.  But first on Saturday afternoon, it was a birthday celebration for our oldest who turned 9 on Sunday with a MUCH anticipated visit from family who live out of state.  We had a great time catching up and watching the kids open their birthday and Christmas presents, and the kids got to have a sleepover in the hotel with Grandma, Papa, and Uncle Bud while we went to the awards show.  The awards show was lots of fun, as always, and I got to watch 2 very good friends win much-deserved achievment awards.  Congratulations, guys!

It was lots of fun putting the show together, even if we didn’t have much time to do so due to last minute notice from the theater.  It was fun and also rewarding to watch the individual skits, shorts, songs, and awards presentations start as ideas on paper and then watch when they came together as a whole.  It’s also a fun excuse to get everyone together, and it’s always nice to see long-lost busy friends who are unable to get together but for this one night.  It might be fun to produce the awards show again next year, but then again, I’d love to have my best friend sitting beside me to watch them because I missed him this year – even though he did make an excellent host.  If there are a few individuals in the theater community who have a hard time because they don’t win awards, then let them have their hard time.  There is talk of cancelling this awards show, and I would be very sad if that happened.  It’s definitely a whole ton of fun for most of us, and I really don’t think we should let a few individuals ruin it for everyone.  That’s all I’m going to say on the subject for now, but expect to hear more from me once this very topic is discussed at the next production board meeting.

Sunday we had major Grandma-let-down, and because we didn’t want our oldest daughter to be depressed on her actual birthday, we let her have a friend sleep over.  During football season, we usually set aside Sundays for low-key stuff, like watching football, reading newspapers, and blogging, but we always end up with crazy kids so it’s never exactly low-key.  But I don’t usually cook dinner on Sundays, and today we ordered pizza.  Five minutes after the pizza was delivered, we noticed the delivery guy was still parked out front and that he was standing outside of his car.  Turns out, he had locked himself out of the car, and so we offered him a warm place to wait for his ride.  Since the temperature outside has been hovering around 0° all day, with wind chills near -20°, he gratefully accepted.  And he stood in our front hall for almost 30 minutes!  If he were outside, he would have frozen to death.  But it did feel a little awkward eating the pizza he delivered while he stood there.  We offered him a seat in the living room, but he opted to stand in the entryway, and I’m kind of glad because at least we were then eating out of his view.  Our 2-year-old kept asking about “the pizza guy”, and then he became scary to her – “I scared pizza guy” – probably cuz he was just standing there, doing nothing, and she’s never seen anyone do that in our front hall before.  But finally his ride came, thank goodness, and he left.  I wonder if he gets paid for the time he was standing in our house?  I wonder who pays for the gas that was used in his running car while he was waiting for his ride?  Should we have offered him some pizza?  It was kind of a weird situation, but it does make for interesting blog fodder.  Of course it had to happen on the coldest day of the year – that guy has a new story to tell!